Memorandum submitted by the National Children's
Bureau
1. GENERAL COMMENTS
NCB welcomes the introduction of legislation
that provides the framework for government, both local and national,
to work towards the eradication of child poverty in the UK by
2020. We also support the Bill's overall compatibility with human
rights obligations, in particular the child's right to an adequate
standard of living under Article 27 of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and Article 11 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. However, we
have a number of concerns about the Bill's alignment with human
rights principles.
2. DEFINING "ERADICATION"
We would question whether the Bill's definition
of the eradication of child poverty is fully in accordance with
the Articles cited above. Clause 2 (the relative low income target)
defines eradication as less than 10% of children living in poverty.
(i) Even if this ambitious target is achieved, it could still
leave one in 10 children in poverty, seriously undermining their
right to a standard of living adequate for their physical and
social development. The government upholds that a zero target
is not achievable in practice. Therefore, NCB and its ECP partners
are calling for the target threshold to be no higher than 5% as
this is the lowest that has been achieved in Europe. (ii)
3. "ECONOMIC
AND FISCAL
CIRCUMSTANCES"
NCB and its ECP partners also have concerns
around the intended consequences of clause 15, that requires economic
and fiscal circumstances to be taken into account when preparing
the strategy. There is a risk that unfavourable economic and fiscal
circumstances could be used as a legally acceptable justification
for not meeting the targets by 2020, and that the fiscal benefits
of tackling child poverty will not sufficiently be taken into
account. Article 27 of the UNCRC asserts that all children have
the right to an adequate standard of living and this is not tempered
by considerations of the impact this could have on the economy.
This right should be realised regardless of economic and fiscal
circumstances.
4. LIMITATIONS
OF THE
DATA USED
The Households Below Average Income (HBAI) survey,
from which child poverty data is taken, defines "child"
as a person under the age of 16, or a 16-19 year-old who is unmarried,
living with parents and in full-time non-advanced education or
unwaged government training. (iii) So, in addition to Gypsy and
Roma children and asylum seeking children, the measure of child
poverty could exclude looked after children in residential childcare,
care leavers in supported housing, and 16-17 year-olds living
away from their parents or those not in education, employment
or training. These particularly vulnerable groups must be included
in the data collection to ensure that the target is a comprehensive
mechanism for realising the right of all children to have an adequate
standard of living.
5. DEFINITION
OF "CHILD"
Like the HBAI, clause 25 defines "child"
as a person under the age of 16 or qualifying for child benefit.
This could exclude 16-17 year-olds not in education, employment
or training (NEET) or those living apart from their families from
benefiting from provisions in the Bill to measure and tackle child
poverty. This contravenes Article 1 of the UNCRC that defines
a child as "every human being below the age of 18 years",
and thereby also disregards Article 27. This omission is of particular
concern as these 16-17 year-olds may be at a higher risk of experiencing
financial hardship as they are only eligible for limited benefits
and have a lower national minimum wage. (iv) To ensure compatibility
with human rights obligations, the definition of "child"
in the Bill must be extended to include all 16-17 year olds.
6. VULNERABLE
GROUPS
The Bill does not include any requirement for
specific approaches in the UK strategies to target groups vulnerable
to living in poverty. This is vital for ensuring these children
and young people do not fall into the "acceptable" 10%
still living in poverty in 2020. For example, families with disabled
children are at greater risk of living in poverty than the average
household (26% risk, compared to 20% in 2007-08). (v) Article
23 of the UNCRC states that every disabled child "should
enjoy a full and decent life". Looked after children are
similarly vulnerable to living in low income households, with
75% of UK foster carers earning less than the minimum wage from
fostering, and 88% not working full-time outside the home. (vi)
Under Article 20 of the UNCRC, children who are temporarily or
permanently deprived of the "family environment" are
entitled to special protection and assistance from the state.
For all children to have the right to an adequate standard
of living, and to ensure compliance with Articles 23 and 20, additional
support and resources have to be directed at the most vulnerable.
7. CONSULTATION
NCB welcomes the inclusion in the Bill of provisions
requiring consultation with children and young people in the development
of the UK and local strategies (clauses 9(4), 12(3), 22(6)). However,
the omission of consultation with parents and carers is a concern.
Article 27 of the UNCRC states that parents (or others carers)
are primarily responsible for securing "the conditions of
living necessary for the child's development". It also requires
States Parties to take appropriate measures to assist parents
to secure an adequate standard of living for their child. It is
therefore vital that parents and carers are given a voice to identify
the support, resources and services they consider most important
in aiding them to fulfil these responsibilities.
8. THE "BUILDING
BLOCKS"
NCB is concerned that the "building blocks"
(Clause 8 (5)) that will inform the development of the UK strategy
do not take account of some significant services that would help
to tackle and mitigate the effects of child poverty.
— Poverty has a significant impact on children
and young people's opportunities for play and recreation, as 24%
of children in the poorest fifth of households (compared to 4%
in the richest fifth) do not have outdoor space or facilities
to play. (vii) The government's strategy for positive activities
(viii) recognised the beneficial impact of positive recreational
pursuits on young people's resilience and outcomes. Article 31
of the UNCRC affords children the right to engage in play and
recreational activities and says that States Parties should encourage
the provision of opportunities for these leisure activities.
— The delivery of integrated early childhood
services can have a range of positive impacts on disadvantaged
families. For example, the evaluation of Sure Start Local Programmes
(now Sure Start Children's Centres) has shown a number of improvements
including positive parenting and better social development among
young children. (ix) Under Article 18 of the UNCRC, States Parties
are expected to secure institutions, facilities and services for
the care of children. Although the provision of affordable childcare
may be considered under clause 8(5)(a) ("promotion and facilitation
of the employment of parents"), there needs to be further
provision in the Bill for considering a wider range of early childhood
services.
— The barriers to using public transport
that all children and young people face can be accentuated for
those living in poverty, and this lack of independent mobility
can in turn reinforce their social exclusion. (x) Travel and transport
provision facilitates access to a range of services, including
education, health care, advice and information and cultural and
recreational activities, services to which children are entitled
under the UNCRC (Articles 24, 28, 17 and 31). Thus, transport
measures should be considered to ensure a coherent, integrated
and effective strategy.
REFERENCES
(i) Children living in households with
incomes below 60% of the national median income, before housing
costs, Clause 2.
(ii) Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland,
UNICEF (2007) Child poverty in perspective: An overview of
child well-being in rich countries http://www.unicef.org/media/files/ChildPovertyReport.pdf
(iii) DWP (2009) Households Below Average
Income An analysis of the income distribution 1994-95 to 2007-08.
(iv) £3.53 per hour for workers aged
16-17, compared to £4.77 for 18-21s and £5.73 for persons
aged 22 and over.
(v) Department for Work and Pensions (2009),
Households Below Average Income Survey 1994-95 to 2007-08.
(vi) Swain V (2007) Can't Afford to
Foster: a survey of fee payments to foster carers in the UK The
Fostering Network.
(vii) Department for Work and Pensions
(2009), Households Below Average Income Survey 1994-95 to 2007-08.
(viii) HM Government (2007) Aiming high
for young people: a 10 year strategy for positive activities.
(ix) The National Evaluation of Sure Start
Research Team (2008) The Impact of Sure Start Local Programmes
on Three Year Olds and Their Families.
(x) Social Exclusion Unit (2003) Making
the Connections: Final report on transport and social exclusion.
September 2009
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